In a vehicle, it is often desirable to provide a forwardly foldable seating assembly for increasing the carge carrying capacity of the vehicle. In vehicles, particularly of the mini-van type having at least three seats, it is further desirable to have the rearmost two seats fold forwardly for carrying large cargo other than people.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,736 to Lebault et al, issued Oct. 14, 1980 discloses a forwardly foldable seating assembly. The assembly includes a first rear seat and a second rear seat. The first and second rear seat fold independently of one another. The second rear seat is located on a raised area of the floor or the load carrying platform of the vehicle. To increase the loading capacity of the vehicle, the first rear seat is forwardly folded to a generally verticla position. The second rear seat is then folded forwardly in such a manner that the back of the rear seat and the bottom thereof form an extension of the load carrying platform. The first area seat does not form an extension of the load carrying platform.